KZMU News

A proposed oil and gas highway through Nine Mile Canyon is attracting the attention of archeologists and rock art enthusiasts. Nine Mile Canyon is a world-famous archeology site with the highest concentration of petroglyphs and pictographs in the country. The proposal would shorten traveling distances for oil tankers through the Unita Basin, but opponents worry about the safety of historical resources. Plus, the Utah House and Senate opened the 2023 legislative session by highlighting their priorities for the next seven weeks. And, climate change is altering many familiar western landscapes. Our radio partners report on ‘king tides’ in Southern California that may offer a preview of future sea level rise in coastal communities.

Show Notes:

Photo: The Great Hunt petroglyph along Nine-Mile Canyon, dubbed the ‘world’s longest art gallery.’ Credit Wikimedia Commons, Scott Catron

BLM: Wells Draw Road Amendment, Gate Canyon

https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022551/510

SL Trib: Duchesne County looks to open oil tanker route through Nine Mile, Utah’s famed rock art corridor

https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2023/01/14/duchesne-county-looks-open-oil/

H2O Radio: A Royal Pain – How King Tides in California Reveal a Troubling Future

https://h2oradio.org/this-week-in-water/a-royal-painhow-king-tides-in-california-reveal-a-troubling-future

Responsible for criminal and civil legal work, the Grand County Attorney’s office interacts with quite a few different people and departments. New Grand County Attorney Stephen Stocks says he’s mainly been in meetings during his first few weeks in office. Today on the news, we hear Stocks’ thoughts on his elected position. Plus, MLK Day as a continuum of protest, an uncovered boat from the shrinking shores of Great Salt Lake, and tribes waiting for the return of their ancestors’ remains.

// Show Notes:

// KGNU: Martin Luther King Jr. Day special broadcast

https://news.kgnu.org/2023/01/morning-magazine-podcast-monday-january-16-2023/

// UPR: Early 1900’s boat uncovered on the shores of Great Salt Lake

https://www.upr.org/utah-news/2023-01-13/early-1900s-boat-uncovered-on-the-shores-of-great-salt-lake

Local politics seem especially active over the last few years in Grand County. Between COVID, housing and noise – there’s been a lot on the county’s plate. Helping lawmakers tackle these issues is Grand’s County Attorney. Christina Sloan spent four years in the position before losing her bid for re-election in November. Today on the news, we speak with Sloan about the issues that shaped her tenure, including state politics and gender. Plus, the Moab Sun News has agenda notes on the upcoming Grand County Commission meeting.

// Show Notes:

// Grand County Commission Agenda 1/17

https://grandcountyut.portal.civicclerk.com/event/18/overview

Black bear hunting has been a controversial topic in Grand County since 2018, when two hunters in the La Sal mountains were caught abusing one. The hunters used hounds to chase the bear to exhaustion, caged the bear for two days, released it, and then let the hounds chase it again. Since this incident, Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources made changes to black bear hunting rules. But Grand’s lawmakers say there are still questionable loopholes. Plus, this week marked the inauguration of the Navajo Nation’s new president, vice president and tribal council members. And later, a discovery about the Basque language has rocked the community in the Mountain West and across the world.

// And the Weekly News Reel! Sophia Fisher of The Times-Independent discusses closure to the 2021 double homicide case, great winter precipitation, planned upgrades to Kane Creek Boulevard, and ongoing reflections on a Grand Canyon trip. Alison Harford of the Moab Sun News talks training and the Moab City Police Department, scientific research in the drylands, and a student art exhibit at the MARC. And the Moab Sun News tells us ‘what happened’ at the Moab City Council meeting.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Hounds chasing a black bear in the La Sal Mountains in 2018. This still shot is from a video that has pushed the Utah Division of Wildlife to tighten bear hunting rules. But Grand’s lawmakers say the changes don’t go far enough.

// 1/3/23 Wildlife Board Meeting

https://wildlife.utah.gov/agendas-materials-minutes.html

// Weekly News Reel Mentions:

// The Times-Independent: Sheriff’s office closes double homicide case

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/sheriffs-office-closes-double-homicide-case/

// The Times-Independent: ‘We couldn’t write a better script’

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/we-couldnt-write-a-better-script/

// The Times-Independent: City plans $8M ‘locals highway’

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/city-plans-8m-locals-highway/

// The Times-Independent: A Grand Adventure, Part 3

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/a-grand-adventure-part-3/

// Moab Sun News: Police Chief details 2023 training agenda

https://moabsunnews.com/2023/01/12/police-chief-details-2023-training-agenda/

// Moab Sun News: Searching for answers in the field with Brooke Osborne

https://moabsunnews.com/2023/01/12/searching-for-answers-in-the-field-with-brooke-osborne/

// Moab Sun News: GCHS students express the ‘Creativity of Life’

https://moabsunnews.com/2023/01/12/gchs-students-express-the-creativity-of-life/

In a few months, Grand County’s Class of 2023 will participate in several graduation traditions. And they’ll create a new one. For the first time, all students will wear the same color graduation robe – red. Today on the news, we speak to two students who helped advocate for a more unified and inclusive commencement. And later, the Utah Food Bank has received funding for distributing what it calls more ‘culturally responsive’ foods. Plus, organizations around the world have a chance to win funding for climate solutions from an Aspen-based nonprofit.

Photo: Grand County’s graduating Class of 2019 dressed and seated according to gender. This year, students advocated to wear the same red robe. Credit Grand County School District

Energy Fuels Inc., the company that owns White Mesa uranium mill just south of Blanding, will sell 300,000 pounds of uranium to the Department of Energy for $18.5 million. The sale is part of a larger initiative to create a domestic uranium reserve. Plus, sentencing in the largest body brokering case in the nation took place in U.S District Court in Grand Junction, Colorado. And later, our radio partners profile Moab Regional Hospital expanding services as well as recent efforts to remove a caricature sign depicting a Native American man at an art gallery in our region.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Energy Fuels’ White Mesa uranium mill. Dom Smith/EcoFlight

// Energy Fuels

https://www.energyfuels.com/2022-12-16-Energy-Fuels-Awarded-Contract-to-Sell-18-5-Million-of-Uranium-to-U-S-Uranium-Reserve

// The Times-Independent(Archive 2018)

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/moab-family-questions-practices-of-montrose-funeral-home/

// KSUT: The Durango Chief – Native Perspectives

https://www.ksut.org/news/2022-12-21/the-durango-chief-native-perspectives

// KUER: Nurses are hard to come by. Moab’s hospital has a plan to hold on to them

https://www.kuer.org/health-science-environment/2023-01-04/nurses-are-hard-to-come-by-moabs-hospital-has-a-plan-to-hold-on-to-them

There’s a new sheriff in town. Jamison Wiggins has spent just over a week as Grand County’s recently elected sheriff. He caught up with KZMU News to give us some insight on a few changes he’s working on for the office, including a Major Crimes Task Force, code enforcement and grant writing.

// Photo: Sheriff Jamison Wiggins (left) and Chief Deputy Sheriff Mike Palmer at the swearing-in ceremony on January 3rd. Courtesy Grand County Sheriff’s Office

After 30 years with the Grand County Sheriff’s Office – and 12 in the top job – Steve White is now entering retirement. Today on the news, White reflects on his tenure, including the cases that have shaped it. During his final week in office, the 2021 double homicide case that rocked the Moab community was declared closed. Retired Sheriff White talks about this case and others, as well as his personal history at the department. Plus, a preview of Tuesday’s city council meeting from our partners at the Moab Sun News.

// Show Notes:

// Grand County Sheriff’s Office Evidence Presentation 12/29/22

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqH8a4W3maA

// Moab City Council Agenda 1/10/23

https://moabcity.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/1157?html=true

Hi listener, KZMU News is taking our semi-traditional winter news break this week. We will return Monday, January 9th! You can find nearly five years (!!) of our stories and special projects on the news tab at kzmu.org and wherever you listen to podcasts. Thank you for your support and warmest wishes during this New Year. See you Monday!

KZMU News is closing out our Best of 2022 week with a story that aired in March. In 2018 a murder shocked a small Navajo community near Bluff. Federal agents arrested a suspect later that year. But since then the victim’s family has lived without closure. We chose the piece due to Rebecca Green’s powerful story of loss and fear in this remote area of the Navajo Nation.

// Original broadcast: https://www.kzmu.org/four-years-after-a-murder-a-rural-utah-navajo-community-looks-for-closure/